This site is all about Groundhog Day! If you are looking for ways to celebrate this holiday in your class: interactive coloring pages, short stories, historical/research information about the holiday, thematic booklists, poems, crafts, puzzles, and more... look no further. This site offers a wide variety of activities for elementary students all ready to go.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Share this link and activities on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Create a station and set up one of the links as a reading station (about shadows,) interactive coloring, research, crafts, or other topic. Use this site as part of a lesson on shadows in science class. Put a link to this website on your class blog, wiki, or website for students and families to explore together.

Look at the cool aircraft tested by NASA over the years with this interactive site. Click on an image of an aircraft to view the specifications, overview, and images. Click on the phone on the table to view great videos of testing of aircraft. Learn how aircraft make the journey from prototype to production of the plane. Play an Aero Match Game or an Air War card game for added fun.

In the Classroom

Use in a History or Science class. View the scientific principles, outline the aspects of the scientific method important to testing, or similarities and differences of the aircraft. Challenge students to answer how the development of the aircraft has changed the space program. Identify historical significance, economic, and social factors that have changed not only aircraft design but the space program as well. Identify and research other technological feats, materials, and inventions that have revolutionized aircraft and space exploration. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.

This resource contains great review information, test questions, and other materials for several content areas. The materials included for review are a great way to identify the basic material needed for the understanding of Chemistry, Physics, Geometry, Algebra, U.S. and Global History, Earth Science, and the Living Environment.

In the Classroom

Use this site as a great review of information about various topics in the subject. This activity would work well for individual or pairs of students in a lab or on laptops. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further practice.

Use Geolover to plan and organize trips anywhere in the world. Mark places you like. Print to create your own travel map and guide. Click on a location, find sites of interest, and click "Add to my list." Click on your lists to view in map view and use other tools. Add your own places of interest easily. As with any site that shares photos and video clips, be sure to preview what you plan to share BEFORE you share the site with your class. There is also an app version of this site for those using iPads or iTouches.

In the Classroom

Use this resource to find important points of interest in places around the world. Use it to learn more about other countries and cultures, determine distances between points of interest, or create travel guides for particular purposes such as religious, governmental, or historical interest. Create a travel guide of a country you would love to visit. Share travel guides or use as the basis of presentations to the class. Create a class bulletin board using Padlet, reviewed here, where you can make columns for the most popular destinations (for a travel guide) and students can contribute to the bulletin board. Then have students create an online book or brochure of images and captions about their travel guide using a site such as Storybird, reviewed here. Use the information at this site to have your students create conventional or multimedia projects. Challenge students make a multimedia presentation using Calameo, reviewed here, and Magazine Cover Maker, reviewed here, or give them a choice of presentation formats using Genial.ly, reviewed here.

This NPR site offers the weekly schedule and recorded programs in its "Here on Earth" series, offering cultural news from around the world. The programs are often part of a larger series, the archives of which are easily accessible as well. Previews for the five weekly programs, Monday through Friday include enticing photographs. Links on the pages of the programs offer opportunities for more information and links to related programs. Students also have the opportunity to see short, related videos and comment on ongoing programs. Programs cover a wide variety of subjects and fields.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Teachers may want to preview the upcoming programs for each week to connect their ELL/ESL students with the programs that concern their part of the world. Students could do an introduction to their countries before the class listens to an appropriate program. Ask your students to visit the site, listen, research, and create a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.

This blog was created and is maintained by Dickinson College (in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, just north of Gettysburg and the Mason-Dixon Line) for those teaching about the American Civil War era. The site is indexed by theme and category, making it easy to search for information and resources related to topics from slavery to science and technology to religion. Not limited to information about battles, soldiers or generals, the site offers commentary about the culture and social issues of the mid-nineteenth century. There are links to other resources and projects maintained by Dickinson College and others.

In the Classroom

While the site might be useful to students doing higher level research or working on a National History project, teachers are the principal audience. If this is a passion of yours, add it to your RSS feed or bookmark it and add to your own knowledge base on this important topic. Share relevant blog entries with your class on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Challenge cooperative learning groups to read one of the blogs and share the information with the class by creating online posters on paper using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here).

This site, created by the Kennedy Center offers a wealth of interactive lesson plans for grades K-12 dealing with a variety of topics, all with an "arts" spin. Search by subject, keyword, or grade level (K-4, 5-8, or 9-12). Some examples of topics include Native Americans, Civil War, Shakespeare, myths, melodrama, adjectives, baseball, and countless others! There are many interactive lessons: some with video, audio, or slideshows. The lessons provide an estimate of time required and complete, step-by-step instructions. There are printables included with some of the lessons.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Search this site for a topic that you are teaching in your class. Share the lesson on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Better yet, make the video or slideshow a learning station for students to do themselves in small groups.

This is a site that contains numerous links to lessons and websites on various social studies and world history subjects. There are numerous subjects: Age of Exploration, Roaring 20s, 50 states, World Geography, African Kingdoms, and countless others. There are lesson plans, links, videos, and more.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This is the perfect site for Social Studies and History teachers. Use this site for background information when planning lessons. Place this link on your classroom computers to provide students with safe places to research. Several topics have video clips that are perfect for showing on a projector or interactive whiteboard. If using this site for research, challenge students to create a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.

This site offers an interactive world map showing Independence Day dates from around the world. You simply hover the cursor over any country that was formerly a colony to see the date of its independence from that country. All countries that used to be part of Great Britain are the same color; color coding for other former empires indicates the empire's former holdings. Data comes from reliable government and other statistical sources. At the bottom of the page, related charts that may be of interest show: Father's Day around the World, Mother's Day around the World, Halloween Celebrations around the world and more.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Keep this site in mind as a reference source when students study world cultures or foreign languages. Challenge students to use this site to create research projects about individual (free) nations around the world. Have individual students or cooperative learning groups create a multimedia presentation using a tool such as Click2Map, reviewed here, to create a map of the country they researched (with display markers featuring text, photos, and videos!).

At this site you will learn about festivals in South America and create charts and essays based on the research. There is a lesson plan complete with discussion questions, links (one of which was not working at the time of this review), vocabulary WITH audio, and more. Classes with international students can draw on them for knowledge and cultural object contribution. A video is available for purchase to add to information about South America, but the lesson plan suggestions will work without it.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this when studying South American countries or at a time when Americans celebrate traditional rites, such as Thanksgiving. This site offers a great opportunity to make your Mexican and other Spanish speaking students feel valued in the classroom. This is an excellent site for research.

Take a virtual tour of major colonial sites along the U.S. east coast using reviewed resources from TeachersFirst. If you are planning a real vacation or simply want to tour via computer, this collection offers information and places to see in Boston, Plymouth, Philadelphia, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Roanoke Colony, and St. Augustine.

In the Classroom

Use this colonial tour as a starting point for a virtual experience of colonial America. Assign different student groups to each colonial location, and have them create an extended virtual "tour" using a tool such as Google Earth, reviewed here, or (simpler) Click2Map, reviewed here. Then have the groups take each other's tours to "discover" the colonies! If you don't have enough time for an extended project, share aspects of the tour and supplement by sharing photos from Google Earth's Panoramio layer on your projector or interactive whiteboard.

Find out what happened on any date in history with this informative site. Each event is listed with a short description. Historic events are listed chronologically from oldest to current times. (Some dates are several pages long, be sure to click the "read more" link to continue to newer dates.) Information includes birthdays, discoveries, events, and more. Searches by specific years, months, and famous birthdays. You are able to add events and comments. Note that the general public can also add comments, so preview before projecting in class!This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site to display an interesting "this day in history" on your interactive whiteboard or projector each day. Use as a resource for students to research events during historical time periods being studied in class. Create a scavenger hunt to review dates in history - give students a list of events and have students find them on the calendar. For a more in=depth experience, share TeachersFirst's Dates That Matter, then have students create their own set of Dates That Matter style question prompts and provide a "Why Does it Matter" response for one of the events found here. Share their student-created Dates That Matter in PowerPoint slides or using an online presentation tool.

A comprehensive guide developed by the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Appropriate for teachers/media specialists/librarians - This is an excellent resource guide for any teacher/ librarian planning a unit of folklife. It is a copy of a publication available free from the Library of Congress. There is a wealth of information and addresses for planning purposes. State Folklife Centers are also included in the list of addresses.

In the Classroom

Use this site as a resource in a research project, or a webquest. Be sure help your weaker readers and ESL students by sharing the vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard and highlighting them in the text as you come to them.

Suitable for Halloween, Valentine's, or any chocolate-covered holiday, All About Chocolate offers basics about how chocolate is made and an excellent cllection of lessons in the "Educator's Resources" area (click at the right). Lessons delve into the South American cultures and environments in which the cacao bean grows. Students can explore chocolate's impact on the economies and environment of these countries, and can also examine chocolate's ancient cultural connections. Sweet!

In the Classroom

Take advantage of the free lesson plans hosted on this site! Save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval - a creative source for a cultural geography, history or earth science classroom! Use Google Earth, reviewed here, to explore the regions where chocolate grows and find photos to bring these locations to life on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Make natural resources a tasty lesson.

At this site you will find a wealth of material about the culture of Spanish America. This includes color images, essays, and a glossary. The Spanish American culture thrived from the 16th century to the early 19th century, and ran from California to Chile. This site can be viewed in English or Spanish. There are DVDs offered with primary documents, more images, etc., but these are not free. This review is for the free internet site only.

In the Classroom

You could share this site with your students on your interactive whiteboard or projector and at the same time create a timeline for the Spanish Americas using a tool such as Timeglider, reviewed here. What a wonderful resource for higher level students during Hispanic Heritage Month!

There are several themes listed on the site. You might want to put small groups of students in charge of a theme, and have them explore the site for what their theme is all about. Have the small groups use a tool such as Mindmeister, reviewed here, to create and share concept maps of the important ideas about their theme. They may want to use the images from the site, too, so be sure to remind your students that they must cite their source, and give credit to the people who created this site when they create a project on line.

This easy to use site allows you to make interactive online quizzes or use pre-made quizzes sorted by subject. You can upload classes, assign quizzes, and receive scores (if students are registered.) Current quizzes available range from Drama to Law to Math (and all core subjects). The format allows for any topic, and the enjoyable characters help to maintain student interest. Note: This site was created in the United Kingdom and follows the curriculum of the United Kingdom. You may notice slight spelling/pronunciation differences.

In the Classroom

You can create and/or assign quizzes for any topic. You need not register students to simply assign an activity, but registration is required to keep and report scores. You simply check which countries to include to narrow activity searches, so decide whether alternate spellings might be an issue for your curriculum topic. Students can use quizzes either at home or in school. Use this site to help students review concepts and receive immediate feedback on their performance. There is a direct link in the quizzes to send a link to registered students or to share on social networking sites such as Facebook, iGoogle and Blogger. Assign small groups of students to create their own quiz for any topic you might be studying. Students can challenge their peers as a review.

In the Classroom

Try using this unit with a study of Thanksgiving, colonial settlements, or Native Americans of the eastern U.S. Share the hands-on crafts and be sure to take digital pictures. Ask students to write explanations of the crafts on your class wiki (with the accompanying pictures)! Or include the link to directions for one of these crafts on your class web page for students to try as a summer activity.

Cool Earth is an organization that works to protect the Rainforest from deforestation and prevent climate change. The site is a valuable resource for information about the Rainforest. There is a variety of ways for schools to participate. The site contains valuable information useful for research projects, short videos, galleries full of rainforest imagery, submit questions, and read blog entries written by visitors currently in the Amazon. Schools can register with Cool Earth to receive regular updates, news, and participate in site competitions. Classrooms looking for a service project may want to participate in the "cool school" project. Students raise money or find funding from local businesses to buy an acre of Rainforest. Cool Earth then provides a map marking the exact location of your plot of land for students to view. Cool Earth also explains ways to cut carbon emissions.

Be aware: this site also includes some items for sale. You may want to advise students to steer clear of these links.

In the Classroom

Introduce this site by sharing photos or videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Include this site on a list of hotlinks for students to access when researching the Rainforest, climate change, sustainability, or carbon footprints. Save this site in your favorites on classroom computers for students to view rainforest maps, ask questions, or read magazine articles. Ask students to visit the site and create an interactive multimedia presentation from the information they learn there using Sway, reviewed here. Register your school with Cool Earth and take advantage of the free lesson plans and resources they offer. The ultimate experience would be to personalize student learning and sponsor a tree or organize a fundraiser to purchase an acre of land. Ask students to research their tree, or the biome biodiversity characteristic of their acre. Include a link to this site on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class.

The Anne Frank House has been a museum since 1960. The history of the former hiding place where the Frank family and four other Jews lived in secrecy comes alive on this website. Starting with 1940 photographs of the building known as Opekta factory, see and learn how the office space was transformed into the Secret Annex where Anne Frank hid for more than two years until the betrayal and arrest by the Nazis. Find out about the four employees who risked their lives to make the hiding possible. The rooms of the Secret Annex have been preserved in their authentic state and salvaged documents and objects belonging to the eight people in hiding are on display. Three short films are included on the website to place the significance of this personal story in a historical context. See Anne Frank's hiding place in 3D and meet the people that helped those hidden inside. After clicking on the secret bookcase, you will be taken behind the scenes of the house to see how Anne and others lived in the communal room, the front office, the attic and more. View the painstaking ways that were taken to keep them safe, and by looking at the space where Anne ate, slept, and hung her pictures.

In the Classroom

Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to take your class on a virtual field trip to Amsterdam to visit the Secret Annex where they can realize what it was actually like for Anne Frank's family and four others to live inside a hidden space, with the constant fear of being discovered by the Nazis. Help the words in Anne's diary come alive by showing what the outside and inside of the building looked like, by viewing the painstaking ways that were taken to keep them safe, and by looking at the space where Anne ate, slept, and hung her pictures. Students will be more likely to relate to Anne as a real person, instead of a fictional character, and admire her optimism, courage, and resiliency. Use this to initiate journal entries for students to reflect on how they would handle two years of hiding and sharing a small space with others, as well as what they would do to remain positive, or use the online exhibit to shed some light on a dark period in history and to strengthen the personal account of the hiding period and the deportation to the camps. Assign class members to read about one of the house members or helpers to research, then have them write a diary (or blog entry) from that person's point of view. Assign teams to debate who was the most important member of the household or if this situation could take place in today's society. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Have groups compare two people they learned about using a tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). Create a class wiki for students to share their journal articles and respond to others.

Take a journey through the life of Frank Sadoras. This site has a wonderful collection of photographs and biographical documents that chronicles Frank's life growing up on a farm in Illinois from 1898-1912. By using this site, you and your students will get a view of what life was like growing up on a farm as well as the photographic techniques Frank used to take his photos.

In the Classroom

This site is a good site to use if you want to introduce more primary sources into your teaching. There is an extensive activities and resource section that covers the topics of photography, history, farming and genealogy. In addition, the PDF entitled the Turning Point would be a good resource to use in a lesson on narrative writing. Share the photos in art (or photography) class on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students create blog entries from the perspective of Frank Sadorus. Use the pictures for creative writing exercises. Why not have a photo of the week and have students write a short piece on the class wiki about what they feel the picture represents, what is happening in the photo, what the animal or person was doing/thinking in the photo, or whatever else is applicable in your class. Do you want to learn more about wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.